Positioning apparatus



June 9, 1931 5, FINN 1,808,810

POSITIONING APPARATUS Original Filed May 16, 192' 4 t s t 1 June 9, 1931. '5, J F|NN POSIT1ONING APPARATUS Original Filed May 16 192' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 w/N l/E/V TUE.

June 9; 1931. 5. J. FINN v POSITIONING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-sheaf, 3

Original Filed May 16, 192' June 9, 1931. s N 1,808,810

PQS ITIONING APPARATUS -0riginal Filed May 192 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 U'name in the United StatesPatent Office on Patented June '9, 1931 'UmTEogsT rsS PATENT OFFICE. j

SIDNEY J. FINN, or BEVERLY; AssAoHUsnrrs, AssIGNon TOUNITED snon. MA

CHINERY CORPORATION, OE PATEBSON, NERV JERSEY, A CORPORATION" OF NEW JERSEY Refiled for abandoned applicationSerial-No. 191,866, filed May 16,1927.

' 23, 1929. Seria1'No.-409,409.

Tl1is invention. relates to positioning apparatus, particularly to that employed for the inversion of objects. The present applicationis substituted for that filed in my May 16, 1927,the latter bearing the Serial No. 191,806.. I

In certain. operations, as in the coating of such work-pieces as the insoles of shoes with cement, an apparatus applies the coating upon the under sideof the plece, so that before said piece is delivered to a surface upon which it is to rest for some tune, a drying conveyor for example,1ts position must bechanged, as by inversion, topre-vent its adhesion to the supporting surface.

An object of my invention is to effect such a positioning operationfwith certainty, so each of the work-pieces may be acted upon properly, regardless of the rate at which they are received, this being accomplished by relatively simple means having little dis turbing effect upon the coating which the work may carry. To gain this end, movable work-positioning means is controlled. by means under the influence of the work and including an element governedby said work during travel past the element toward the positioning means. For imparting motion to the inverting or positioning means, I have shown driving means, preferably frictional,

which may be latched to normally hold the invertingmeans againstv movement and released at the appropriate time for operation. This control I may exercise through means which operates synchronously with delivery of work-pieces, traveling with them in their advance, say from a coating apparatus to the positioningmeans, this unlatching or other controlling means being preferably set by the work at the receiving-side of the.

coating apparatus in preparation for its action. After thus acting, it is restored to normal for another operation. Retaining means is illustrated, which acts upon the controllingmembers in'both their active and inactive positions to prevent accidental displacement. By this or an equivalent con.- trolling organization, there is provided'an inverting orl positioning device, which iS rosr'rroivme APPARATUS operated. in constanttime-relation with the work-pieces coated, so that accuracy of operation 1s insured. As herein dls'closed, a, se-

ries of arms intermittently movable between,

This application filed November provide for certain engagemenbwith the work-pieces, and have little effect upon their coated faces. To release these armsfor their operation, an endless member, traveling with the conveyors, may be employed,

this endless member carrying a series of pins or other members movable into and major action upon the latch whichytemporarily holds the armsin receiving position. Since, if the apparatus is designed for proper operation upon narrow work-pieces, it might,; unless this is'guarded against, repeatthecontrolling action upon the positioning means, for a single piece when wide pieces were operated upon, I have included in the.v

apparatus means arranged to disconnect portions of the controlllng means to 'limit th1s control to once for each piece of work.

More specifically, a controllingmember or pin, when set for action,-produces .movement of a member which prevents a repetition of the settin g action for the same piece of work. This may be by rendering ineffective connections through" which the set- V l ting is effected. p a A A particular embodiment of my invention appears in the accompanying drawings, in which j Fig. 1 is atop plan view of the improved apparatus; H y

-Fig. 2, a side elevation from thefleftin Fig. 1; .7

Fig. 3,.an enlarg'ed detail in elevation of the pin-setting elements directly associated with the chain which carries said pins; and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are, respectively, sections on the line IV IV, of Fig. 2, theline v-sv of Fig. 3, and the line VI-+VI of Fig. 1.

The invention is illustrated inconnection with an apparatus A for applying a coating 'of cement-to such work-pieces as the soles appearing at S in Fig. 1. This cementer in thereof, looking I substantially the peripheral speed, of the.

which tank is j-ournaled an applying roll 12, and'upon which is carried a movable pressure-roll 14 turning in arms 16 pivoted at opposite sides of the top of the tank. Power is applied to the rolls through gearing, in

dicated at 18, from a driving shaft 20 to rotate them to advance the work from right to left,ias viewed in Fig. 2. Theworksis delivered to the cementing rolls bya conveyor,

which may consist of a series of belts 22 spaced somewhat from one another and oper-V -ating over an innershaft 24 o-ui'naled ad analed transversely o-fthe tank, and the second upon a frame 39 extending forwardly therefrom. These chains 32 receive the. coated work and advance it toward a conveyer 40, of which but a portion is shown. This may be for carrying the soles for some distance r .to dry them, and may deliver to a stacking apparatus. It is shown as supported at the end adjacent to the: cementing apparatus upon a shaft 42, The chains 32 are driven at the same speed as the belts 22, which is also coating and applying rolls, by sprocket gearing 44 from the shaft24. The conveyor is shown as receiving power through. sprocketgearing 46 fromthe shaft 34., p Between the conveyors 32 and 40 is interposeda device B, which engages soles lying with their coated'sides down upon the firstmentioned conveyor, and delivers them to the drying conveyor 40' in an inverted position. 'The support for this device is, furnished bythe shaft 38, about which turn the rolls 36, thisshaft'having fixed between such rolls hubs 50, from each of which extend four uniformly spaced arms 52, shown as substantially n'inetydegrees apart andtangential to f the hubs. The length of these arms, which extend in four alined series transversely'of the conveyor-chains 32, is such that each series will probably engage for inversionthe widest work which the cementing machine is to operate upon. Afriction driving device C exerts a constant tendencyto, rotate the inverting device, but this is normallyresisted by a latch 54 pivoted upon the frame 39"and engaged by some one of a series of projections 56 from the outer face of adisl:

1 58 fast upon theshaft 38. These projections 56 ;are' spaced to correspond to the-arms 52,

so that, when the inverting device is held against rotation by the latch 54, aparticular series of the arms will lie just below the conveying surface of the chains 32 or substantially horizontal, while the next series of arms in'advanceof these is in an' approxi- 1 mately vertical position'ne'ar the outer ends of the" chains. A spring 60 (Fig. 6) holds the latch-.54 against. a portionofthe frame in its projection engaging relation. driving device G herein utilized consists of a casing62 secured at its outer end to the shaft 38 and being spaced from said shaft. Within this casing extends an elongated'hub 64 from a sprocket-wheel 66 arranged to rotate about the shaft 38. This sprocket-wheel is com The 'i stantly driven by a chain 68- from a shaft 7 0,,

which receives movement from the shaft 24' by way of sprocket-gearii'ig 72; Within the casing 62 are opposite" segments 74, guided by pins'76 projecting from the hub of the sprocket 66 and forced outwardly into frictional engagement with the casing by springs 78 seated in alined depressions inrthe hub and segments. The engagement between the segments andcasing is sufli'cient to cause the rotation of the shaft38, and consequently. the revolution of the arms 52 for the performance of their inverting function when the latch 54 is carried away from a contacting projection upon the disk 58. WVhen, however, the latch lies in the path'of the projections and the disk-is held against turning, the segments slipidly over the interior of the casing. r

7 To cause the device B to properly invert the work, it must act onlywhen a single sole is. i

is fully above aseriesof thearms 52, which are'below the conveying surfaces of the chains To bring this about, the action ofthef inverting device is timed bythe soles themselves, they acting to set'one of a series of members whichtravel with thesoles as they advance from'the cementer, this set member releasing the inverting device from its latch forrasingle partial rotation as the sole is in the desired relation to the arms which are to ,carry it to'thedrying conveyor. Thesev travcling members may consist of pins 80 mounted to slide horizontally through'U-shaped supports 82 secured to the chain 68, the extent of movement being limited by a head 84 formed upon the outer extremity of each pin and byfa lateral projection 86. The pins are regularly spaced along the chain 68, and are sufiiciently close to one-another to be properly available for the-control of the inverting device when the narrowest soles are acted upon at the 'most rapid rateby the cementing ma chine. Fixedupon the frame at the outer side of the chain 68- is a'bar'88 so located that, bythe engagementwith its edge of the inner or the outer faceof the head of any of the pins, said pin may be temporarily maintained against accidental displacement,

respectively either its outer inactive rela- 5 in normal engagement with the pin.

lever 11 1 is articulated at1-18 to a bell-crank contact-surface 122. l by the connections just described, actuated n'sosysio;

tion, in which it produces no eifectupon the inverting device,. or in its inner active position. in which it contacts with the latch 5.4 to lift this from the path of the'projections 56 and thus free the inverting device for'op-- 'eration. The pins may be shifted longitudi nally from one position to the other through interruptions in the ba'r 88 adjacent to the shaft TO-and also beyond the latch 54.

To selectively set the pins for action under the control of the soles, there is pivoted,.by means of arms 90 upon the tank 10 above the delivery-end of the conveyor 22, a bar 92 (Fig. l), in rearwardly extending arms 94 of which is ournaled a transverse shaft 96.

Spaced from one another along the shaft96 and fixed to it over the spaces between the belts 22, are thin-edged disks 98. One of the arms-90 may have a forward extension 100 carrying a weight 102 adiustable along it. This serves as a counterbalance for the disks, so that the resistance which the rolls 98 oppose to movement by the soles may be varied.

To further reduce the resistance to the feed ing of the work which might be procuced by these rolls, they may be rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2) by a belt 104 (Fig.1) from the shaft 26. From the arm 94 at the end of the bar 92 toward the chain 68 isan exi tension 106. Upon the outer end of the exten sion is pivoted a link 108 having some capacity for vert-lcal'yleld bvvirtue of a spring connectlon 110 (Fig; 3). Nearthe lower extremity of the link'is a depression having its bottom wall 112 substantially horizontal to engage a pin 113- projecting from a lever 114' fulcrumed upon a bracket mounted uponthe side of the tank. A spring 116 holds the link 108 and lever 114 together with the wall 112 The lever 120 fulcrumed upon the bracket and provided at its upper end with an inclined This surface is movable from the disks 98 under the influence of the soles delivered to the cementing apparatus, into the path of the heads84 when the pins 80 are in their inactive positions. Normally, the lever'120 is so held by a spring 124:]tl1at the surface 122 lies clearof the heads of the pins, the rolls 98 being at this time lowered, ready foractuation by the work.

Considering a sole S as placed by the operator upon the conveyor-belts 22, thiswill be carried by the belts against the rolls 98, which'will be-raised with little resistance, and will correspondingly lift the bar-extension 106. This, through the link108 and the levers 114: and120,-will carry the surface 122 into the path of the heads 84jof the controlling pins, so that oneof these pins, which is substantially alined transversely with the sole, will be thrust inwardly, itshead at this time-movingthrough'therspace between por- "n. is, or

tions of the bar. 88. The setting-of the pins, it should be noted, is in synchronism with the delivery of the soles to the cementing machine. Now,a's the sole continues in its ad- Vance to receive its coating from the rolls 12 and .14 and then upon the chains 32, the projecte'd pin travels with it until the sole, coa.ted upon its under side, is above the inner horizontal series of arms 52. At this time,,the.

set pin 80. reaches the latch5i, and, contact? ing with its under side, lifts it ,abovethe projection 56,.whichhas been in engagement with it. This frees the shaft 38, allowing the friction driving device. C to act to rotate the inverting device B. "As this occurs, the arms which are beneath the sole elevate it from the chains 32, and, as the revolutionof the arms continues, the succeeding series, whichhas occupied such a position that they prevent.

movement of the work beyond the desired point, will recelve the sole with its uncoated surface down. As these receiving arms move farther, the'sole slides down their inclined. edges, and is deposited upon the conveyor with the coated side up,;;. Since the arms 52 are narrow and the only force acting. to press the work against them consists of the weight of'a single piece, they produce little effect upon the coating. After passing the ing device arrives at the space in the bar 88, g and at the sametime its mner endstrikes a.

. latch 54, the pin which has released the invert- 5 stationary cam 126, which thrusts it back to its initial position, its head now passing along the outside of the retaining bar until it-is again set under theinfiuence of another, sole. g 2

course,fnecessary, as :has already been pointed out, tohave the controlling pins 80 close enough to function in connection with j the path of the inner end of a pin immediately after it has been set in its active positionis an inclinedsurface128 (Fig. 3) upon a bell crank lever 130. fulcrumed upon a bracket extending from the tank above theleven-114.-

A downwardly extending armof the;-lever 130 has a portion 132 overhanging theojuter edge of the link 108. As the set pin advances toward the, latch54, it strikes thelinclinedj surface of the lever 130, forcing the portion 132 against the link 108., This removes the wall 112' from contact with the pin 113, and

the link is raised by the: spring 11.0,;which 139 wasftensioned when the lever 120' was positioned. This separation between the portions of the connectlons frees the surface 122 from "the control of the disks, and immediately tionary abutment 134, along which the pin 7 tioning means to once for each piece of work;

3. The combln'atlon with a movable workipositioning member, of driving means there- I after the head of. the set pinrhas passed the surface, the spring 124 restores the lever 120 to its inactive position. At this ti1ne,'-the edge ofthe link 108 rests against the pin 113,

- the depressionbeing above the pin; 'When the sole which has produced the setting operation has traveled .frombeneath the disks and these resume their normal depressed position, the link is lowered'until cooperation is established between its depression and the pin 113; To prevent the thrust exerted by thesurface 128 upon the pin from rendering this ineiiective to disconnect the link 108,

there is supported above this surface a statravels and is held against rising as it acts upon the lever. c

Having described my invention, what I claim'as new and desire to secure by Letters 7 Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with movablework-positioning means, of means'including an element governed by the work during the travel of'said-work past the element toward the positioning means for controlling the movement ofthe positioning means.

7 2. The combination with movable workpositioning means, t meansunder the influence of thework for controlling the movement of the positioning means, and means arranged todisconnect portions oft-he controlling means tolimit control of the posit'or, means for successively advancing work to the positioning member, and means under the 'influence of theiwork and-including a plurality of movable members traveling therewith, respective members controlling successively the application of power by the driving means to the positioning member.

4. The combination with means for delivering work-pieces, of a member operable to position the deliveredpieces, and traveling means operating synchronously withthe ad- Vance of the work-pieces toward the positioning member'to control the operation of said member. v 5. The combination with means for advancing work-pieces, of a member operable to position the advanced pieces, and means set by the work in its advance'and traveling with said work to control the operation of the positioning member, i

6. The combination'with means for advancing work-pieces, of a member operable to position the advanced pieces, means set by the Work in its advance and traveling with said work to control the operation of the positioning member, and a member movable by the set member and arranged to prevent a repetition of v the setting action for-the same pieceof work.

7. The combination with an intermittently 7 ing an element governed by .objectsrtobe operable inverting member, of, means includ-.

inverted during the travel ofsaidobjects past the element toward the inverting memher for controlling the operation ,of'the inverting member.

8. The combination-with a normally stationary member revoluble in one direction only to invert objects, of rotatable driving mechanism, and means under the control of an object tobe inverted for rendering the mechanism efiective to drive the inverting member.

9. The combination with a normally sta- I tionary inverting member and driving mechanism therefor, of means for advancingworkpieces to the inverting member, and controlling means for the driving mechanism travel-ii ing with the, advancing means and movable by the work-pleces from an inactive to an;

trolling the inverting device. i 1 V i 12. The combinationwith a conveyor, of an inverting member to which the conveyor de-- livers, dr v ng means for the lnverting mem V ber, a member traveling with the conveyor and arranged to occupy an inactive position and an active position for the control of the driving mechanism, and means under the influence of a work-piece for moving the con-;

trolling member to its active position. i v 13. The combination with a conveyor, of

.an inverting member to which the conveyor delivers, dr iving mechanism tor -the inverting member, members traveling with the conveyor and arranged t'ooccupy an inactive posltion and an actlve position for controlling the-driving mechanism, means under the in fluence of a work-piece for moving a con-' means under the influence of the thus moved controlling member for preventing the action of the same work-piece upon another controlling member. V I .i

14. The combination with a conveyor, of an inverting member to, which the conveyor delivers, driving means for the inverting memtrolling member to its active position, and. V V

ber, a member traveling with the conveyor and arranged to occupy an inactive position and an active position for the control of the driving mechanism, means under the influ -i 1 active position untilit has operated.

15. The combination with a conveyor, of an inverting member to 'which the conveyor delivers, driving means for the inverting member, a member traveling with the conveyor and arranged to-occupy an inactive position and an'active .position'for the control of the driving mecl1anism,'mea ns under the influence of a workpiece for moving the controlling member to its active position, and means acting after its operation for returning the controlling member to its inactive position.

16. The combination with a conveyor, of an inverting member to which the conveyor delivers, driving means for the inverting member, a member traveling with the conveyor and arranged to occupy an inactive position and an active position for the control of the driving mechanism, means under the influence of a'work-piece for moving the controlling member to its active position, means acting after its operation for returning the controlling member to its inactive. position, and retaining means acting upon the thus-returned controlling member. 1

17. The combination with spaced conveyors situated side by side, of a shaft provided with V series of arms revoluble between the conveyors, driving mechanism for the shaft, means for stopping the rotation of the shaft with a series of arms in proximity to the conveying surfaces, and means controlled by the conveyed work for releasing the shaft.

18. The combination with spaced conveyors situated side by side, of a shaft provided with series of arms revoluble between the conveyors, driving mechanism for the shaft, means for stopping the rotation of the shaft with a series of arms in proximity to the conveying surfaces and with a second series arranged for engagement'by the conveyed'objects, and means controlled by the conveyed work for releasing the shaft.

19. The combination with spaced conveyors situated side by side, of a shaft provided with series of arms revoluble between the conveyors, driving mechanism for the shaft,

7 by the coating apparatus.

20. The combination with a conveyor, of a rotatable inverting device co-operating with theconveyor, friction driving mechanism for r the inverting device, a latch arranged to hold the inverting device against rotation, and means traveling with the conveyor for releasing the inverting device from the latchg 21. The combination with a conveyor, of a rotatable inverting device co-operating with theconveyor, friction driving mechanism for the inverting device, a latch arranged to hold the inverting device against rotation, and a series of members traveling with the conveyor and movable in their travel I to either clear or engage thelatch.

22. The combination with a conveyor,of a

rotatable inverting device co-operating with the conveyor, driving mechanism, means for rendering the driving mechanism elfective or ineffective to turn the inverting device, an endless member traveling with the conveyor, and a series of pins movable upon the member into and out of position to act upon said means. v

23. The combination with a conveyor, of a rotatable inverting device co-operating with the conveyor, driving mechanism, means for rendering the driving mechanism effective or ineffective to turn the" inverting device,"an

endless member traveling with theconveyor, a series of pins movable upon the member 'into' and out of position to .act upon said means, and a member movable byobjects to be inverted to set the pins in their activeposition.'

24. The combination with'a conveyor, of.

tive' or ineffective to turni the invertingjde i vice, an endless member trav'ehng'with the conveyor, a series of pins movableupon the member intoand out ofposition 'to act upon said means, a member movable by objects to be inverted to set the pins in their active position, and a member movableby a set pin'and arranged to prevent a repetition of the setting action of the object.

25, The combination with a conveyor,"o"f; 3

ice

rotatable inverting device co-operating with the conveyor, driving mechanism, means for r b rendering the driving mechanism effective or ineffective to turnthe inverting devlce, an

endless member traveling with-the conveyor, aseries of pins movable uponthe member into and out of position to act upon said means, a

member movable by objects to be'inverted to set the pins inthe'ir active position, and a member lying in thepath of the set pins after they have acted and arranged t'oreturn themtonormal. W r

26. The combination with a-coating apparatus, of a conveyor delivering thereto, a

conveyor receiving coated pieces from the.

coating-apparatus, a rotatable inverting de vice to which the receiving conveyor delivers,

frictional 'drivingmeans for the'inverting device, a latch for holding the inverting device against the frictional drive, a chain for operj ating the frictional driving means, pins movable upon the chain for engagement with the latch, an actuating member movable by the work-pieces upon the delivering conveyor,

' and a setting member movable into the path of the pins and connected to the actuating member. a I r a r 27. The combination with a coating apparatus, of a conveyor delivering thereto, a con-- veyor receiving coated pieces from the coating. apparatus, a rotatable inverting device to" which the receiving conveyor delivers,

frictional driving means for the inverting device, a latch for holding the inverting device against the frictional drive, ;a chain for 'paratus, of a conveyor delivering thereto,

gagement with the latch, an actuating mema conveyor receiving coated pieces from the coating apparatus, a rotatable inverting device to which the receiving conveyordelivers, frictional driving means for the inverting device, a latch for holding the inverting device against the frictional drive, a chain for operating the frictional driving means, pins movable. upon the chain. for enber movable by the work-pieces-upon the delivering conveyor, a setting member movable into the path ofthe pins, connections between the actuating member and setting member and including separable portions, and a lever movable by a set pin and arranged to separate portions of the connections.

=29. The combination with acoating appa? ratus, of a conveyor delivering thereto, a conveyor receiving coated pieces from the coat mgapparatus, a rotatable inverting device to whichthe receiving conveyor delivers, frictional driving means for the inverting device, I

a latch for holding the inverting device 'a gainst the'rfrictiona-ldrive, achain for op crating the frlctlonal' ClIlVIHg means, pins movable upon the chainfor engagement with the work-pieces upon the delivering conveythe latch, an actuating member movable by it the work-pieces upon the delivering convey,- or, a setting member movable into the path of the pins and connected to the actuating member, a restoring member acting upon the set pins after they have passed the latch, and a retaining bar in contact with which both the setv and restored pins'travel and arranged to'tempora-rily retaintheir positions 1 In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification,

SIDNEY J. FINN.

the latch, an actuating member movable by or,;a setting member movable into the path of r the pins-and connected to the actuating meme her, and a restoring member acting upon the set pins after they have passed the latch.

' 30. The combination. with a coating apparatus, of-a conveyor delivering thereto, a conveyor'receiving coated piecesfrom the coatingjapparatus, a rotatable inverting device to which the receiving conveyor delivers, 1 frictional driving means for the inverting device, a latch for holding the inverting de-' vice against the frictional drive, a chain for operatmg the fractional driving means, plns movable upon the chain for engagement with 

